Magazine

Independent, provocative, now! The CJLO Magazine is the resource for features, reviews, and interviews. Established in 2004, and run by dedicated CJLO volunteers, the magazine covers the latest and best in local and international music, art, theatre, film, festivals, and more!

Hot on everyone’s minds right now are Tomb Mold, Toronto’s Bloodborne-infused flagship death metal band. They are currently reigning supreme once again this summer with their third full-length, titled Planetary Clairvoyance, which is debuting alongside a North American tour. Their sophomore record, Manor of Infinite Forms, released a year ago in similar fashion alongside an admittedly smaller set of shows, but nonetheless to high critical acclaim.

“Neurosis” is an archaic psychological term used to describe a variety of mental ailments, forgone nowadays in favour of other terms. Depression, anxiety, chronic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc. are what “neurosis” is most often associated with. So fitting is that word as the band name for Neurosis, one of the world's quintessential avant-metal bands. Their music explores the deep crevices of the mind, scratching away at the walls of your darkest feelings… only to suddenly burst out with an explosion of primal rage leaving you in a dizzied haze of grief.

In the final week of the 23rd edition of the Fantasia Film Festival, I had to narrow down my viewings. There was only so much time on my day off to get in as many films as possible. Unfortunately, I did not hit my record of viewings compared to other years, but I am very happy with the films I chose to focus on. Both the Cinema Lucida and Documentaries From the Edge provide the festival with some great programming.

On Saturday, July 27th hillarious comedians Adam Conoverand Ron Funches interviewed Ubisoft’s creative director Jean Guesdon about his work on the Assassin’s Creed franchise as part of Conover’s Humans Who Makes Games podcast. This hour of video game comedy was an absolutely informative delight!

Second City Toronto’s She The People is an outstanding, intersectionally feminist sketch comedy show you absolutely need to see! She The People ran until July 27th at the Centaur Theatre, featuring powerful performances from award winning, multi-talented artists Ann Pornel, Ashley Comeau, Kirsten Ramussen, Paloma Nuñez, Tricia Black and Karen Parker. She The People will make you laugh, cry and reflect on the challenges women and gender non-conforming individuals are still facing in 2019.

Full Of Hell’s highly-anticipated fourth full-length Weeping Choir launched back in May to critical success. Just between me and you, we’re well aware how tardy this review is being published. Now I, illuminated by my unnecessarily bright laptop screen in an otherwise deprived-of-light basement at two o’clock in the morning, could sit here and reason with you as to why such a big release wasn’t covered back on May 17th when it originally debuted. Perhaps the complexity and pummeling nature of Full Of Hell’s music needed a whole month and a half to properly decipher, or maybe one can find meaning in the inverse relationship between this album’s full-throttle attitude and my lazy summer work ethic.

The 23rd edition of the Fantasia Film Festival has taken over Concordia University's downtown campus until August 1st. Defining itself as a premiere genre film festival, there is truly something for everyone. When I attend Fantasia, I always create a master list of all the films that I want to see. This year it took close to two hours to create, as the festival's list of films stretches more than 130 titles from all across the globe. I tend to gravitate towards the films in Documentaries From the Edge and Camera Lucida. There is a method to the madness in making a master list - doing so allows me to track my free days with the screenings of the day.